Tuesday, December 8, 2009

A Bump in the Road

First of all it's important to say that things have been generally going along quite well at NE Sinai. Adele has gotten stronger in physical therapy and has been able to climb 10 steps. She has learned a great deal in occupational therapy about how to safely do things at home without putting pressure on her sternum or carrying or supporting more than 10 lbs. of weight with her arms. Her surgical wounds have been healing nicely and her hair has looked fabulous thanks to the regular visits from the hairdresser.
Now the one area that has been problematic has been her breathing. Adele has been on oxygen since the surgery in Worcester. She had been weaning off of it slowly but seemed to always need some to keep her blood oxygen level above  90% where it belongs. She has needed more when she is in PT exerting herself. A few days ago her level dropped during PT and she took the rest of the day off feeling very fatigued. Today her oxygen level went even lower during PT and the amount of oxygen she receives through her nose had to be significantly increased.. That seemed like a setback and it is not yet clear what caused it. She will have some additional tests tomorrow as well as a pulmonology consult. One thing we know is that she has some fluid build up in the area around one of her lungs. It looks like the amount of fluid hasn't changed since she got to Sinai but it hasn't been reabsorbed and decreased on its own as often happens after a surgery. How much that plays a role in her need for oxygen supplementation is not clear. When we know more it will be shared across the blogosphere with all of her adoring fans.
On a brighter note, her daily get-well card count has surpassed 110! She still loves opening and reading them so don't worry about having to stop sending them any time soon!

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